Different types of talk therapy all involve working with or talking to a trained therapist such as a:
- counsellor
- psychotherapist
- psychologist
- psychiatrist
- nurse
- social worker
The therapist helps you understand and cope with difficulties, thoughts and feelings.
This may be:
- in a 1-to-1 session in person, over the phone, or using video (online)
- with your partner (couples therapy or relationship counselling)
- with your family (family therapy)
- in a group (group therapy or psychoeducation)
- using a self-help workbook, worksheets, doing exercises or courses to learn ways to change how you think and act
What happens in a talk therapy session
You and your therapist will work together to find out your needs and agree your goals.
During the session your therapist will:
- listen and reflect back their understanding of what you have said
- respect you and your opinions without judging you
- give you time to talk and express your feelings
- help you to come up with solutions to address the problem
They may ask questions in a certain way to help you:
- think about how your life experiences affect your thoughts, feelings, relationships and behaviour
- understand problems or negative thoughts and feelings
- cope with or deal with these problems, thoughts and feelings
- make changes to help you to address the problem
- help you look at your problems in a different way
Length of sessions
Usually a session is 1 hour long.
How many sessions you have depends on your needs. Sometimes there may be a limit to the number of sessions you can get - for example 6 or 8 free counselling sessions.
You may be offered 1 session or a planned number of sessions after which you review of progress with your therapist.
It can take a number of sessions before you start to see progress. You usually start to feel better gradually with the help and support of your therapist.
Why people find therapy helpful
Moving to another therapist
Your therapist provides a professional support to you and it is important that you feel comfortable with them.
If it does not feel like a right fit, tell your therapist. They can adjust the treatment or consider whether someone else might be better placed to support you.
If you need to, you can:
- look for another therapist
- ask to change to another therapist in the same service
Ways to get talk therapy
You can get talk therapy: